Starving on the Blood Sugar Diet

[sailawaywithme]

This is Day One of the BSD for me, after a couple of "false starts." I'm three stone overweight and really need to get the weight off, for my health if nothing else.

I'm starving! I had a protein bar for breakfast then lunch was spinach, walnut and blue cheese salad. I'm at 800 calories and it's barely 5 o'clock!

Is it normal to be so, so hungry? Will I get used to it eventually? I really need this to work but I just don't think I can do it ☹️

I'd expect it to be completely normal to be really hungry on 800 cals in a day if you are used to enough calories to develop 3 stone of excess. (I'm speaking as someone who hasn't lasted on a diet for more than 4 hours for decades, and I'm 2 stone overweight.)

The maon thing is - you're doing it. It's not easy but it is worth it, and I've heard incredible results occur, including reversal of type 2 diabetes etc. Can you drink lots of water or fruit/herb teas to decrease the hunger?

I have done it, you really need to think about what you eat. Not sure a protein bar is a good thing, need to stay away from processed foods. Lots of veg is good, loads of water and calorie free drinks. Oxo cubes in hot water are good for a quick fix. Blue cheese and walnuts are high calorie so limit them and have more salad.
Good luck.

Sailaway - I've never tried a very low calorie diet but I have done 5:2 which includes 500 cal fast days; trust me, you're not starving, just hungry.

It's perfectly okay and normal to feel hungry. In very simplistic terms, your brain is used to getting messages from your stomach that it's having regular food. Once these become less frequent, the brain simply sends out a message that it's past normal food time, reminding you that it hasn't had its usual fix. You'll definitely get used to it, but may have to go through some rough days whilst your brain adjusts to the lower calorie intake and finally accepts that nothing drastic is going to happen.

If you haven't found it already, there's a really good thread you can join with plenty of good advice from people who know exactly how it feels. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/fasting_diet/2871971-blood-sugar-diet-thread-6

Good luck!

Eat a lot of vegetables and make sure you have enough protein. Make sure you have some good fats too. If the 800 cal a day is too little for you, you don't have to have so little: you can take things more slowly.

You could have some small snacks of protein with a whole green pepper or celery sticls for example to keep you going.

Something like a whole bowl of green vegetables, some olive oil and an egg will usually mean you won't feel hungry for hours and hours.

Why would you do that to yourself when there are several other ways to list weight without being hungry

Soup is your friend! Vegetable/bean soups work well. And drink lots of water - at least 2 litres a day.

I don't really know anything about the blood sugar diet - but things I find help with hunger when dieting are: apples, water, carrots, eggs, yoghurt, any green veg. When dieting I prefer these cooked and hot - they just seem more filling. Also gentle exercise - walking, yoga - really helps.

Why not follow some of the recipe suggestions in the book?

What was the protein bar? If it was sweet with some sort of sugar or artificial sweetener that can make you hungry. Whole fat yogurt with berries and a few nuts can be good for breakfast and there are other suggestions too you might like.

That salad was probably not enough. With salad you really need something like a whole lettuce with some oil to go with the small piece of cheese and handful of walnuts.

Really have a lot of leafy vegetables to go with the protein. Don't miss out on a modest amount of healthy fats. Cheese is a bit tricky as you must have the suggested (small) portions. Some cheeses are better than others for calories such as feta; and cottage cheese is very low: you can have a lot of that with raw vegetables, or with some cooked ones.

Low calorie but filling protein can also been found in pulses too. With some oil, plus chopped things like onion, celery etc for flavour, a tin of lentils or chickpeas is a very filling lunch.

800 calories with enough protein and vegetables leaves you less hungry than 800 calories worth of crisps.

800 is low though and the book makes clear no one has to take things so quickly.

If you eat chicken and fish with a lot of leafy vegetables you will probably not feel hungry at all if you drink water and warm drinks in between.

As someone said some oxo, vegetable stock, marmite and hot water, or miso can be a good thing to have if you feel hungry between meals.

DO NOT GIVE UP!
It gets much much easier. Drink buckets of water.
I'm half way through and 21 lbs down, and NOTHING usually works for me. I've not been hungry for weeks.
Best of luck

Took me 2 days to stop being hungry. After 12 weeks I'd lost 2.5 stone. On my 4th week of maintainance and back for round 2 from Monday.

Keep going. It's totally worth it. I promise.

That's true 'Sailaway'. You learn new way to eat and when the food is so nutritious with protein and vitamin filled vegetables, your body and brain begin to feel secure that you aren't hungry.

Thank you for all of your responses! I agree that my food choices clearly haven't been the best ones today. Tomorrow I'm going to start with full fat yogurt and some flaxseed, hoping that will tide me over. When I hear about people losing 20-30lbs over 8 weeks, it really gives me a boost! Do you tend to have 2 meals a day, or 3? I'm actually thinking at this point that perhaps skipping breakfast and holding out until lunch might help me. I eat lunch early - 11:30 or 12:00 - so perhaps I need to concentrate on drinking lots of water in the morning.

Thanks for the encouragement, and I'll be sure to check out the other thread.

Ohyesiam please would you say a bit more about why/how it's worked for you. That is a fantastic result. I don't diet usually but love the idea of rapid but healthy weight loss then maintenance. How do you manage not to feel hungry?

I usually eat 3 times on working days: b/fast at around 11am, lunch at about 3pm and dinner at about 8pm (so fast for 15 hours per day). At weekends I eat twice - lunch at around 2pm and dinner at 8pm-ish, so 18 hour fast per day.

Lots of research now suggests breakfast isn't the "most important meal".

Hi, I'm currently doing it, about 3 weeks in and have lost 14 pounds. The first 3 days are the hardest - now it doesn't really seem that difficult and I'm wondering why I used to feel I had to eat so much.

You need to drink loads of water. Masses. You will be constantly going to the loo. It helps a lot. I was very hungry and a bit fainty which is your vagus nerve going into overdrive trying to make you eat more.

If you read Robert Lustig's Fat Chance it's really interesting on the science on why our hormones and not our lack of willpower keep us fat.

If you can get through the first week, you will be on your way.

I sympathise. I am about 10 days in. The first three days were tough. I managed by having a nap at midday, lots of fizzy water, and nibbling on celery. I also reminded myself I would not starve, as I had a great big fat store sitting on my stomach. I found cauliflower and avocado perfectly filling, and using spices helps.

I had a couple of nasty headaches in the first couple of days but water and aspirin worked fine. I also felt light headed at times, but the upside was I lost weight at an astonishing rate.

Week 2 is equally hard. I don't feel hungry at all and my energy has returned. I am sleeping really well which is lovely. My stomach is far less bloated, and my skin looks good. However my weight loss has stalled completely. Nothing lost in four days. I still want to stick it out, not least because too much sugar for too long appears to have caused nerve damage to my hands and feet. That weight has to go. Simples.

Do join others on the main thread. I for one am going to need some hand holding.

Hi I started this yesterday but last week I did 5 days of lowcarb high fat to get me into ketosis first so hopefully I will be able to adjust quickly and won't be too hungry.

I find I do better when I don't have breakfast. As soon as I start eating I can't stop so I intend to break my fast as late as possible each day. Apparently people do really well if they keep most of the calories for their main meal but I imagine you have to work up to that.

I still have loads of cheeses and cream etc in the fridge from last week but I will have to weigh them carefully or I will be well over 800cals. For the first 2 weeks I am going to try and keep my carbs as low as I can as this will really help me stay on track. After that I am looking forward to lots of lovely soups and stews with loads of spices and veg.

Good luck.

However my weight loss has stalled completely. Nothing lost in four days.

Weight loss isn't linear. 😉

I lost nothing between week 3 and 6. Not an ounce. But my clothes got looser by the day and something I wore on a Monday was too big by Friday.

I find it comes in waves. My tummy gets a little wobblier just before the whoosh fairy comes.

Great support group on FB, by the way.

I need to start again having been ill, but I want to promise that it does get easier a few days in. KOKO

Do you tend to have 2 meals a day, or 3? I'm actually thinking at this point that perhaps skipping breakfast and holding out until lunch might help me. I eat lunch early - 11:30 or 12:00 - so perhaps I need to concentrate on drinking lots of water in the morning*.

Do not skip breakfast: that is well known to be the number one way to eat badly. In fact make sure you have a bit more than you said: add a few nuts and some berries too. You need that fibre and those fats.

Have 3 meals definitely.
I always have 2 other snacks too because I need that for my metabolism to avoid mood swings and to not have any cravings.

If you choose that route, like I do, snacks don't have to be full of calories. As I mentioned, an example of a snack if you get very hungry. would be a whole pepper and some cottage cheese or humous. A small apple and a few nuts. If you are out and get hungry a child's potion apple and small wedge of cheese; or a small packet of nuts can save you from wanting a muffin or something like that.

Bit by bit you will see how very well you feel.

Be very careful about the no breakfast I have seen someone has mentioned.

Not eating 3 meals (and even some snacks) with protein (Me fish dairy pulses nuts) and oils from nuts and seeds and fresh fruit and vegetables and some healthy grains, can drive cravings for sugar and carbohydrates.

The OP had said she feels hungry. Skipping breakfast of the right kind is not the cure for that. It is possible to lose weight without feeling hungry and evenly spaced meals usually help because it stops blood sugar dips. These may cause hunger and eventually the urge to grab at sugar/high carbohydrates and/or fat as quickly as possible..

This is about a life style change not jut a short term diet.

Not eating 3 meals (and even some snacks) with protein (Me fish dairy pulses nuts) and oils from nuts and seeds and fresh fruit and vegetables and some healthy grains, can drive cravings for sugar and carbohydrates.

This is not true. The science of fasting is gaining ground all the time. Someone with a very physical job might need breakfast, but otherwise a large proportion of the population should be able to go without it. Many people report eating breakfast makes them hungrier earlier.

And yes, it's not a diet. It's a way of life.

There's also lots of evidence against snacking/regular eating.

I'd suggest you actually catch up on the science behind this approach before you suggest things that run counter to it.

And it's not a bad thing to feel hungry now and then. We're supposed to.

Titty
How many people who are very over weight and want to go on a diet because of it might actually have a form of eating disorder? How many have put on weight because of diets?

Fasting would drive them to worse and maybe even caused the problem in the fist place. So do cycles of sugar highs and lows from carbohydrates.

Hunger should be avoided.
Eating three meals a day (with snacks if necessary) does not have to mean high calories or not not losing weight.